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He held up his hands. “I agree with your stance on this, boss. I feel the same way you do. However, it’s done. We have seven new cubs and they’re growing like weeds.”

“We also have seven more mouths to feed,” she muttered.

“Again, I agree with you. But, come on Scar, don’t you want to see babies?” He wiggled his brows. His bright amber eyes sparkled with hope and happiness. How could she turn him down?

“Ithasbeen years since I’ve been to the enclosures.”

“Then today is the perfect day to reacclimate yourself with your feline friends.” He held out his hand to her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Everyone at the sanctuary knew what happened to her. They had to know according to Maisie. It’d been one of the fanciful stories her sister liked to tell anyone who came to work for them. The day Scarlett was mauled and survived. Somehow, it also became a story about Maisie as well. Her sister didn’t care if the memories of it still haunted Scarlett. Maisie didn’t care if people stared at Scarlett’s disfigured face or pointed at her while whispering.

None of Scarlett’s pain mattered to Maisie, only the money she could make for the sanctuary. Scarlett, like their big cats, were sideshow freaks compared to Maisie’s flawlessness. “It’s not that I don’t trust you...”

“But, you don't want to be seen in public?" He quirked a brow. "Don't you think you've hidden away long enough, Quasimodo?"

“Asshole!” Scarlett threw a binder clip at him and laughed. “I amnotQuasimodo.”

“No, you’re not. You’re a sexy as hell lioness, who should be with her pride.”

As if.

“Boy, you’re blowing smoke up the wrong woman’s ass,” she said, shaking my head. “Who knew you were a sweet talker.”

"I call ‘em as I see ‘em." Kenny was easy on the eyes and, though he flirted like a tom cat in heat, he was all hot air and bluster. He was mixed like her. His mother white and his father black. His skin was a deep bronze color and his hair fell to his shoulders in loose, dark brown curls shot with golden highlights. He belonged on a damn magazine cover, not in her sanctuary picking up poo. Yet, he stayed on with them.

He also treated her like she wasn’t disfigured. Like she didn’t have a scar from her scalp line down to her cheek, and she appreciated it.

Scarlett learned pretty quick some men were either repulsed by her or they considered her an oddity. Her scar tended to make them stare or give her looks of pity before walking away. She should've been able to say she was used to it by now, however in the twenty years since the accident, she didn't think she'd ever been comfortable in her skin.

If anything, it got worse as she grew up. Her teen years were atrocious. College was marginally better. But, again, most of the guys she dated, only wanted one thing—sex. For them, she was a conquest. For her, the only place she felt like she wasn’t coming out of her skin, had been home, atHearts and Paws,because none of the big cats treated her like a freak of nature.

Nonetheless, her scar and the tale behind it didn't dissuade Kenny. He tried and tried to get a rise out of her. He tempted her with treats and soft platitudes. He talked to her and handled her like a wounded animal. Sometimes she wondered if that's what she was.

“What are we going to do with seven more mouths to feed?”

Kenny shrugged. “Not my call, Scar. Only Maisie’s.”

She frowned. Since their parents passed away, Maisie had been the one in control of the day to day business aspects of the sanctuary. In the beginning, Scarlett thought everything would be fine. Her sister loved the animals, maybe didn't do as much work as Scarlett did, but Maisiehad beenthe face of their charity along with the sanctuary for many years. As such, it wasn’t like her sister could get elbow deep in the chow or shit.

Scarlett’s ‘disfigurement,’ allowed her sister to take over the public perception of the refuge while Scarlett ran the maintenance half of the business—which should have included the veterinary and wellbeing of the big cats along with the financials, but Maisie insisted since she went to the charities and did all the leg work, she should be responsible for the balancing the yearly budget.

“You’re right it is,” she replied, standing. “But, from the cut in the upkeep budget Maisie made a couple of weeks ago, I can tell we’re not bringing in the money we used to. Seven new mouths to feed means more food, more bedding, more everything.”

She knew she sounded like a broken record, but if someone didn’t say it, they were lost. Maisie didn’t have control of the financial side like her sister wanted everyone to see she did. If they cut corners any more than what they’d already done, it could mean disaster for the animals and their preserve. Scarlett had to figure out what was happening to all of their money and stop it quick. She wouldn’t allow her family’s legacy to be destroyed—even though the people she still respected and loved had turned their back on her many years ago.

“Are you coming to see the cubs?” Kenny got a hopeful look on his face. “I understand you’re worried about the future. I am too. But you should be here with us right now. Worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow.”

“I’m worried about the practical. I’m worried about the fact my sister isn’t following the protocol my grandfather insisted upon. ‘All animals brought to the sanctuary must be neutered.’”

Kenny frowned. “I’m not paid to ask those questions. I do the heavy lifting when need be.”

No, but she should have. Huffing out a breath, Scarlett pointed to the hallway leading to the enclosures. “Show me these cubs.”

He squeezed her shoulder and pressed her to his side when she joined him. He was all brawn and model good looks and he even smelled expensive. Observing him from a distance as she did on occasion, she hadn’t expected the strength he exuded or the comfort she could find in his embrace. She also shouldn’t have wanted to bury her face in his chest and inhale the luxurious scent of sandalwood and leather.Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me?

Kenny led her down the corridor to the door separating the main building from the actual refuge. The dull, fall sunlight balanced out the cool breeze of the coming winter. Already, there’d been snow in the forecast. It wouldn’t stick yet, however, it reminded her of all the work they still needed to do, to prepare the property for a long cold season.

They passed through the employee entrance to the back area where all the internal cages were kept. In the distance, she could hear the roar of the lions calling out to each other, or the likely case, they were waiting to eat since it was just about time. Kenny opened the door to the tiger area first and she stepped inside. The visceral reaction had been instantaneous. Her palms began to sweat and the sound of bees buzzing filled her ears. She detested this. She hated the fact her heart felt like it would leap from her chest. Despised the bouts of dizziness leading up to her passing out. She loathed the fear a place she'd called home for so long, could seep from her.